ANNA
ANNA POV
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His mocking chuckle lingered long after he motioned out with Jeremy as I froze on my track, throwing him ballistic gazes. The silence pressed against my chest until I could hardly breathe. My wrist burned from his grip, but it was nothing compared to the hollow ache searing through my ribs.
As if I were some commodity, as if my worth could be weighed and measured in neat little numbers.
My vision blurred with angry tears, but I refused to let them fall. Not here. Not when I could still hear Lori’s perfume lingering in the air, sweet and poisonous.
I couldn’t stay in this room, suffocating under the ghosts of his words. I needed to see the one person who mattered more than all of this.
Chamberlain.
I slipped out of the study before the guards could return, my footsteps echoing softly against the polished floors. My heart thundered as I followed the familiar path to his room. Every corner of the mansion felt like it was watching me, waiting to see if I dared defy Alex’s unspoken command to “stay.”
When I reached the door to Chamberlain’s room, my hand trembled on the knob. For a moment, fear rooted me in place. What if he didn’t want to see me? What if Lori had already poisoned his heart against me?
But I couldn’t let that stop me.
I pushed the door open.
The warm scent of lavender drifted out, mingling with the faint beeping of medical equipment. Sunlight filtered through the curtains, spilling gold across the bed where Chamberlain sat propped up on pillows. His small frame looked so fragile beneath the covers, his dark eyes fixed on the glowing screen of a tablet in his lap.
And beside him was Lori.
She perched on the edge of the bed as if she belonged there, her manicured fingers lightly brushing Chamberlain’s hair back from his forehead. When she looked up and saw me, her eyes sharpened, her smile too sweet to be anything but venom.
“Well, well,” she purred. “Look who crawled out of her hole.”
My chest tightened, but I stepped forward anyway. “I came to see him.”
Her hand shot out, palm raised like a wall. “Don’t move an inch closer.” Her tone dropped its sugary coating, steel beneath the silk. “You’ve done enough damage. Stay where you are.”
Chamberlain’s gaze flickered between us, confusion clouding his small, tired face. My heart cracked at the sight. He didn’t know what to believe. He didn’t know who to trust.
I swallowed hard, ignoring the lump in my throat. “Chamberlain…” My voice wavered, but I forced it steady. “I need you to hear me. Please. I would never hurt you.”
Lori scoffed, her laugh sharp and cruel. “Oh, don’t listen to her lies, sweetheart. She almost cost you your life, and now she’s trying to twist your mind, too. Pathetic.” She leaned closer to him, her voice dripping with false tenderness. “I warned your father, didn’t I? That she was reckless, careless. And look what happened.”
Tears burned my eyes, but I held Chamberlain’s gaze. “She’s lying. Lori, not me. I’ve cared for you from the moment I met you. Every story I read, every night I stayed up when you had nightmares was the action of someone who wanted to hurt you?”
Chamberlain’s lips parted, but no words came. His eyes darted back to Lori, then to me. His small fists clenched against the sheets.
Lori’s smile widened, triumphant. She stroked his hair again, whispering loud enough for me to hear. “Don’t let her confuse you, darling. Some people pretend to care just to get close. But in the end, they always reveal themselves. She revealed herself.”
“No!” My voice cracked, the desperation spilling free. I stepped closer despite her raised hand, despite her glare that promised war. “Chamberlain, listen to me. I never gave you that drink. I never left your side when you needed me. Lori was there. She was the one—”
“Enough!” Lori snapped, her mask slipping, venom flashing in her eyes. She stood, her presence towering though she wasn’t much taller than me. “Don’t you dare accuse me in front of him. You’ve already ruined this household enough.”
Her sudden outburst made Chamberlain flinch. His small body curled slightly against the pillows, and my heart broke all over again.
“Look at him,” I whispered, my voice trembling but sharp with truth. “You’re scaring him. You say you care, but you don’t. You care about control. About winning. But this isn’t about you, Lori.”
Her jaw tightened, but before she could retort, Chamberlain’s small voice finally cut through the air.
“Stop.”
The single word was weak, but it carried enough weight to still us both.
Lori turned to him, her smile snapping back into place. “Sweetheart, I’m only protecting you—”
“I said stop!” He pressed.
Lori froze.
Slowly, Chamberlain turned his gaze at me. His lips trembled, his eyes wet. “Did you really… not do it?” His voice was so small, but every syllable was a plea.
My chest ached. I took a cautious step forward, tears slipping down my cheeks. “I swear to you, Chamberlain. On everything I have left. I would never hurt you. You’re… you’re my family.”
His lower lip quivered, and his tiny hand inched out from beneath the blanket, reaching for me.
That simple gesture nearly undid me.
But Lori moved like lightning, intercepting, her hand closing over his before mine could. “Don’t,” she hissed, her mask shattering for an instant. “Don’t let her fool you.”
Chamberlain’s eyes widened at her tone. He looked between us again—between the hand holding his too tightly, and the one trembling, reaching out in desperation.
And in that moment, something shifted.
His voice was quiet, but firm. “Let go, Lori.”
Her face paled, but she forced a laugh. “Darling—”
“I said let go!” His voice cracked, stronger this time, filled with the kind of authority that could only belong to Alex’s son.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Lori’s fingers trembled as she pulled her hand back, her jaw tight with barely contained fury.
I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, until Chamberlain extended his hand fully toward me. “Anna…”
His small hand stretched toward me, trembling but determined, and my heart leapt into my throat.
I crossed the distance in a breath, dropping to my knees beside the bed. My fingers wrapped around his, warm and fragile, and I held them as though they were the only thing tethering me to this world.
Tears blurred my vision when he whispered, voice fragile but piercing, “Anna… why? Why did you hurt me?”
The words gutted me. His innocent eyes filled with confusion, with betrayal stabbed deeper than Alex’s accusations ever had. I felt the ground tilt beneath me, my chest hollowing into a cavern of grief.
I shook my head violently, clutching his hands tighter, desperate for him to feel my truth in my touch. “No, Chamberlain. No. I didn’t. I swear in my life, on every breath in me, I would never hurt you.” My voice cracked, breaking apart like glass. “You’re the most important person to me. You’re my family. You’re my everything.”
His lips quivered. “But… Father said… Lori said—”
My stomach twisted, but I forced myself to stay calm for him, for the little boy whose heart was breaking under the weight of lies.
“They’re wrong,” I whispered fiercely. “They’re wrong about me. I didn’t give you anything. I didn’t leave you alone. Lori was there that night she was the one who had the cup in her hand. Not me.”
I glanced up. Lori’s face had gone stiff, her painted smile cracking just a little.
But Chamberlain’s gaze stayed on me. His tiny fingers curled tighter around mine, searching, testing. “You’re not lying?”
I lifted his hand, pressing it against my cheek so he could feel the wetness of my tears, the tremor in my skin. “Look at me, Chamberlain. I could never lie to you. I love you too much to ever hurt you. You’re safe with me."
For a moment, silence stretched. His eyes, wide and glossy, searched my face as though trying to peel back every layer, every shadow.
Then his small shoulders sagged. His lips trembled again as he whispered, “I don’t… I don’t want you to leave, Anna.”
The dam broke inside me. A sob tore from my chest, raw and helpless, as I leaned forward and pressed my forehead against his. My hands cradled his tiny ones as though they were made of porcelain.
“I’m not leaving you,” I promised, my voice thick with tears. “Not now. Not ever. No matter what anyone says.”
Behind me, Lori’s sharp intake of breath sliced through the tender moment. “Chamberlain!” Her voice pitched, trembling with something almost feral. “You can’t trust her. She’s manipulating you. Don’t you see? She’s doing exactly what she always does, pretending to care.”